Preterite and Imperfect tenses

Preterite: regular -ar verbs

-é                           - í

-aste                      -iste

-ó                          - io'                     

-amos                  -imos

-asteis

-aron                     - ieron

hablé, hablaste, habló, hablamos, hablasteis, hablaron

Imperfect: regular -ar verbs

-aba                          -   ía

-abas                        - ías

-aba                          

-ábamos                   - -   íamos

-abais

-aban                       - ian

hablaba, hablabas, hablaba, hablábamos, hablabais, hablaban

The imperfect is used for actions that "set the stage" for another action.

Yo leía cuando entró mi papá.

I was reading when my papa entered. (note that "entered" is preterite)

The imperfect is used for telling time and stating one's age.

Eran las siete de la noche.

It was seven o'clock at night.

La niña tenía cinco años.

The little girl was five years old.

Good news! There are only three irregular verbs in the imperfect. You must simply memorize them.

ser	ir	ver
era	iba	veía
eras	ibas	veías
era	iba	veía
éramos	íbamos	veíamos
erais	ibais	veíais
eran	iban	veían

 To review some of the rules for using the imperfect:

• The imperfect is used for actions that were repeated habitually.
• The imperfect is used for actions that "set the stage" for another action.
• The imperfect is used for telling time and stating one's age.

 To review some of the rules for using the preterite:

• The preterite is used for actions that can be viewed as single events.
• The preterite is used for actions that were repeated a specific number of times.
• The preterite is used for actions that occurred during a specific period of time.
• The preterite is used for actions that were part of a chain of events.
• The preterite is used to state the beginning or the end of an action.

ser	ir	dar	hacer
fui	fui	di	hice
fuiste	fuiste	diste	hiciste
fue	fue	dio	hizo
fuimos	fuimos	dimos	hicimos
fuisteis	fuisteis	disteis	hicisteis
fueron	fueron	dieron	hicieron

Expressions that signal use of preterite

ayer

(yesterday)

la semana pasada

(last week)

anoche

(last night)

el mes pasado

(last month)

el otro día

(the other day)

el año pasado

(last year)

entonces

(then)

hace dos días, años

(two days, years ago)

esta mañana

(this morning)

ayer por la mañana

(yesterday morning)

Expressions that signal use of imperfect

a menudo

(often)

generalmente

(usually)

a veces

(sometimes)

muchas veces

(many times)

cada día

(every day)

siempre

(always)

cada año

(every year)

todo el tiempo

(all the time)

de vez en cuando

(from time to time)

varias veces

(several times)

Reflexives (intransitive etc.)

In Spanish, these intransitive constructions frequently employ the reflexive form.

The sun dried the clothes. (transitive)
El sol secó la ropa.

The clothes dried in the sun. (intransitive)
La ropa se secó al sol.

For some verbs, the meaning changes when they are used reflexively.

aburrir - to bore
aburrirse - to be bored

acordar - to agree
acordarse de - to remember

acostar - to put to bed
acostarse - to go to bed

casar - to perform a marriage ceremony
casarse con - to become married to someone

despedir - to fire
despedirse de - to say goodbye

dormir - to sleep
dormirse - to fall asleep

ir - to go
irse - to go away, to leave

morir - to die (abruptly, as of an accident, war, etc.)
morirse - to die (as from natural causes; also "to die" figuratively)

negar - to deny
negarse a - to refuse

parecer - to seem
parecerse a - to resemble

poner - to put
ponerse - to put on

probar - to try, to taste
probarse - to try on

quitar - to take away

quitarse - to take off

A few verbs are always used reflexively.

arrepentirse (e:ie) - to repent
atreverse a - to dare
darse cuenta de - to realize
jactarse de - to boast
quejarse de - to complain about

suicidarse - to commit suicide

"Hacer" with time expresions

When it comes to using the verb "hacer" to express the length of time an action has been taking place, there are two ways to say the same thing:

Estudio español desde hace un año.
Hace un año que estudio español.
I have been studying Spanish for one year.

Demonstratives

The demonstrative adjectives and pronouns both have four forms:

este libro (this book)
estos libros (these books)
esta pluma (this pen)
estas plumas (these pens)

ese libro (that book)
esos libros (those books)
esa pluma (that pen)
esas plumas (those pens)

aquel libro (that book over there)
aquellos libros (those books over there)
aquella pluma (that pen over there)
aquellas plumas (those pens over there)

Para vs Por

"Para" --  has relatively fewer uses than "por". These are the rules for "para". Anything else, use "por."

Rule: to indicate destination
Model: El hombre salió para Madrid.
(The man left for Madrid.)

Rule: to show the use or purpose of a thing
Model: El vaso es para agua.
(The glass is for water.)

Rule: to mean "in order to" or "for the purpose of"
Model: Para hacer una paella, primero dore las carnes.
To make a paella, first sauté the meats.

Rule: to indicate a recipient
Model: Este regalo es para ti.
(This gift is for you.)

Rule: to express a deadline or specific time
Model: Necesito el vestido para el lunes.
(I need the dress by Monday.)

Rule: to express a contrast from what is expected
Model: Para un niño lee muy bien.
(For a child, he reads very well.)

Rule: "estar para" to express an action that will soon be completed
Model: El tren está para salir.
(The train is about to leave.)

Present Progressive

Present Progressive

estar + present participle
I am speaking (right now, at this moment)
Never use present progressive for something that will occur in the future.

Present Participle (-ando, -iendo, yendo)

hablar - hablando (-ar)
comer - comiendo (-er)
vivir - viviendo (-ir)
decir - diciendo (e:i)
dormir - durmiendo (o:u)
leer - leyendo (orthographic)
seguir: siguiendo (orthographic)

DO and IO Pronouns Used Together

Here are the direct object pronouns and the indirect object pronouns side by side:

DO Pronouns	IO Pronouns	English Equivalent
me	me	me
te	te	you (familiar)
lo, la	le	him, her, it, you (formal)
nos	nos	us
os	os	you-all (familiar)
los, las	les	them, you-all (formal)

When you have both a direct object pronoun and an indirect object pronoun in the same sentence, the indirect object pronoun comes first.